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Question 50 of 69 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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On 15 August 1947, when India became independent, Mahatma Gandhi was not in Delhi but in:

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Answer: Option C — Calcutta

Detailed Solution

On 15 August 1947, when India became independent, Mahatma Gandhi was not in Delhi to take part in the celebrations, but in Calcutta (Kolkata), where he was trying to stop communal violence.

Gandhi in Calcutta:

  • In August 1947, Calcutta had been shaken by communal riots since the "Great Calcutta Killing" of August 1946.
  • Gandhi arrived in Calcutta on 13 August 1947, and stayed at Hydari Manzil, an old, abandoned house in the Beliaghata area, a riot-affected locality.
  • He stayed there together with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the former Chief Minister of Bengal (a Muslim League leader), to show that Hindus and Muslims could live together in peace.
  • On 15 August 1947, he spent the day fasting, praying and spinning, as he did not feel that there was anything to celebrate while the country was being divided and people were killing each other.

His fast:

  • When violence broke out again at the end of August, Gandhi began a fast on 1 September 1947, saying that he would end it only when peace returned to Calcutta.
  • Leaders of both communities pledged to maintain peace, and he ended his fast on 4 September 1947.
  • Calcutta remained largely peaceful during the Partition, while Punjab was devastated by riots.

The Governor-General's praise:

The Governor-General praised Gandhi as a "one-man boundary force", because he had kept peace in Bengal, while a large army (the Punjab Boundary Force) could not keep peace in Punjab.

Gandhi's message:

NCERT on Gandhi in 1947:

  • NCERT notes that at the time of Independence, Gandhi was not in the capital; he was in Calcutta, but he did not attend any function or hoist a flag anywhere.
  • He marked the day with a 24-hour fast.

After Calcutta:

  • Gandhi went to Delhi in September 1947, where he worked to stop the riots, and undertook his last fast in January 1948.
  • He was assassinated on 30 January 1948.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Bombay, Sabarmati and Wardha were not where Gandhi was on Independence Day.

Quick tip

Remember: on 15 August 1947, Gandhi was in Calcutta (Hydari Manzil, Beliaghata, with Suhrawardy; fasting; NCERT); "one-man boundary force".

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Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the freedom struggle from Gandhi's return to India in 1915 to independence in 1947: the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad movements, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh, the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Round Table Conferences, the Cripps Mission, the Cabinet Mission and the partition of India. Most questions ask about the year, cause or result of a movement, or the event that ended it. For example, the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Dandi March (1930) started the Civil Disobedience Movement. Learning these events on a timeline is the best way to avoid confusion. Practise the Gandhian era questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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